


Eureka

by magicandlight



Series: The States [21]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: California-centric, Families of Choice, Found Families, Gen, Photography
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-05 04:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12786534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicandlight/pseuds/magicandlight
Summary: Eureka: a cry of joy or satisfaction when one finds or discovers something.





	Eureka

**Eureka**  
eu·re·ka  
_exclamation_  
a cry of joy or satisfaction when one finds or discovers something.  
**•••••••••**

 **February 27, 1848**  
**Alta California**  
Some of the states had been taking bets on whether it would be a girl or a boy, light-haired or dark, blue-eyed or brown, that sort of thing. Texas, the only one who knew what California looked like, kept his mouth shut.

Alfred had expected that Mexico would have her. He had expected that Mexico would hand her over after he won the war.

He had not expected that Lora would not know where the young personification of Alta California was.

He had not expected to hear Mexico say that she hadn't see Alta California in  _years,_ since before the failed Republic.

So now he was going from coastal town to coastal town, because Mexico had said she did remember that Alta California liked the ocean. She had also said that Texas might know where she is. (He hadn't. Tex also said he hadn't seen the Alta since about 1820, fifteen years before his revolution. He also said that he and California had not gotten along well to begin with.)   
**\---------------**  
He finds Alta California on a beach.

She looks at him with lonely eyes the color of honey and doesn't say anything.

Calypso, he names her.

After the lonely goddess, banished to an island.

 **March 3, 1848**  
**Alta California**  
California is young. And scrawny. And horribly lonely- the worst part is that she was used to it.

Alfred sent off a letter to Sera informing her to cancel any meetings he had for the next couple of months. California needed someone to stay with her.

 **March 7, 1848**  
**Alta California**  
Callie has accepted that she isn't Mexico's anymore, that she is America's now.

Sometimes, she misses it. Being called Valentina and being sung Spanish lullabies.

 **March 19, 1848**  
**Alta California**  
The day California hands him a lump of gold he just stares at her.

She shifts from foot to foot. "It's gold. I find it sometimes."

Alfred stares at her for a few minutes before he crouches down to her eye level. "How would you like to have settlers?"

Her eyes widen. "Would I get bigger if I had more people?"

America nodded. Her small population was probably part of the reason she was so scrawny and short. "If I show this to some people, I think they would come here. Can I show it to people?"

California nods frantically.

 **1848**  
**Alta California**  
America says  _Hey Cal, wanna go on an adventure?_  and Cal doesn't think he's being serious.

He is, and she gets a new sister out of it. Charlie's eyes remind her of Carmen's- except Carmen's are blue and brown and Charlie's are blue and green.

The government says Alta California is too big, so they divide it.

It hadn't hurt as much as she thought it would. When they pulled Gabe and Jax and her apart, it had burned and ached and Callie had felt like she was dying. Lora had held them all, even though they were getting too big to hold all of them. She had held them and they had cried.

She starts aging again- the stupid growing pains come back. Hadn't had those since the split either. Callie wonders if Jax and Gabe are growing too, or if she looks older than her brothers now.

 **Summer 1850**  
**California**  
Feature shifts are gradual to accommodate immigration.

Callie's change is so subtle and slow, she doesn't realize it until she catches her reflection in a mirror and really stops to look.

Her eyes- which had once looked so much like her mother's, are now almond-shaped. She still had her mother's high cheekbones, but her cheeks were slightly fuller. Her hair- which had always been multihued- blonder towards the top, darker underneath. Now, the darker underside was closer to black than it had been, and the blonde was sandier.

There are touches of Native American still, but the majority of her features are European or Asian.

Callie shrugs.  _Must have had a wave of Asian immigration or something_. 

 **August 1850**  
**Washington DC**  
It's the first time she's met all the states, and Cal's a little terrified. 

_What if she doesn't fit in? What if they don't like her? What if she's too different?_

Then she sees the patchwork of a family Alfred has put together. It's a mix-match of skin tones-from Ev's chocolate-colored skin to Nicky's Mediterranean-esque tan to Sam's stark milk-pale skin. Half of the states seems to speak something other than English natively. And well, New England and the Deep South are about as different from each other as it gets. 

No one looks twice at her multihued hair, the deep tan of her skin, her almond-shaped eyes.

 **September 9, 1850**  
**Washington DC**  
Cal grows and gets a population big enough to become a state.

The government divides Alta California. It hadn't hurt as much as she thought it would. When they pulled Gabe and Jax and her apart, it had burned and ached and Callie had felt like she was dying. Lora had held them all, even though they were getting too big. She had held them and they had cried. She starts aging again- the stupid growing pains come back. Hadn't had those since the split either. Callie wonders if Jax and Gabe are growing too, or if she looks older than her brothers now.

She signs papers saying she accepts and acknowledges her responsibilities as a state, and Sera tells her the Statehood Ceremony- to get her star- will have to be scheduled.

When Alfred asks if she wants to go find baby Utah with him and Tex, she says yes with no hesitation.  
\-----------  
Lora cradles baby Utah in her arms and Cal almost screams at the frustration of it- that her mother should ignore her and hold Utah.

Texas scowls, until he catches her eyes.

 _Guess she's still mad about those rebellions_. He mouths.

Cal laughs.  
\-----------  
Lora smiles at her. "You got taller."

Cal wants to say  _no duh, I was eight the last time you saw me. I'm fifteen now._

 **September 19, 1850**  
**Washington DC**  
Cal wants to be like the older states.

She wants New York's unwavering confidence. Louisiana's ferocity. Ohio's sheer tenacity of wearing whatever the hell she wanted and not caring what they said about her. Pennsylvania's way of making people listen and believe. Texas's devil-may-care attitude.

She wants to be like them, and if you can't beat them, you join them.

 **September 20, 1850**  
**Washington DC**  
It's a quarter to twelve the day of Cal's statehood party, and she's found her way into Brooke's lap.

When Austin stumbles in and immediately flushes, Cal just grins.

 **September 21, 1850**  
**Washington DC**  
Despite the commonly held belief, Cal's pretty smart.

Not any kind of genius for sure, but she knows the advantage of having two very powerful states share her bed.

Because Brooke's shaping up to become an industrial powerhouse of the north.

And Austin, well, he just might rival Virginia one day as an agricultural power.

 **November 27, 1850**  
**Washington DC**  
Austin thinks he's the only one who can read people, but he often forgets that good observational skills are survival tools that Cal honed through years of loneliness.

She notices that his eyes have a tendency to stray to Brooke far more than they stray to her.

(Before December, Austin has grown a pair and asked Brooke out for real.)

 **January 9, 1857***  
**Philadelphia, Pennsylvania**  
Earthquakes this violent leave marks. 

Alfred doesn't seem to get it. 

Earthquakes don't rip into his skin, not unless they kill his people. 

This earthquake is bad enough that splits the skin between her spine and her left shoulder, and Cal just shrugs and gets Austin to slap some bandages on it.

 **Summer, 1861**  
**Philadelphia, Pennsylvania**  
The Civil War truly begins, and Cal's found-family rips itself to shreds.

 **November 8** **, 1861**  
**Kentucky**  
She'd gone South with the army.

Now, with this  _mockery_  of her nation grinning at her, she deeply regrets it.

He reaches out, taking a lock of curly, sandy hair and twirling it around his finger. 

He enjoys making the Union states uncomfortable- especially the ones that could have gone either way like Kendall and Scott.

Sheer stubbornness keeps her from flinching away.

She tenses as she feels the rapid approach of another state, vaguely relaxing as she recognizes it as a Union state.

Del snarls, more of a wildcat than a girl.  _This is the same state that had once braided her hair_ , Cal thinks. 

Jackson laughs. "State Leader." He greets Del. 

Del's teeth are bared. "Get your hands off of my sister or I'll cut them off."

Jackson laughs, but Del takes a swing and connects with his nose. 

Del shoots Cal a look. "Go, California. I'll handle this."

"But-"

"California. Go." Del's eyes flicker to the battlefield. "Get Kendall out. He's on the Northside. Gunshot wound, I think.  _Go_. I can handle Jackson."

 **1865**  
**Washington DC**  
Cal is surprised when she's required to attend the Reconstruction meeting. 

More surprised when the North is seated in order of statehood across from the South. 

There are no military uniforms amongst the states. There are only fine dresses and waistcoats. 

Cal is on edge the entire time- what reason could Congress have to turn states into pretty pawns?

Cal takes a seat between Mindy and Oliver. Mindy looks uncomfortable in her blue gown [[X]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068464383587/), as uncomfortable as Oliver is in his green waistcoat. 

Towards the beginning of the table, the Originals are the picture of ease. They had worn far more restrictive dress during their lives, and it no longer bothered him. 

A few congressmen frown at the vibrant red of Cal's dress, her lips painted to match. [[X]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068464383586/)

The frowns only grow when she dips into a mocking curtsy, a smile tugging at her lips.

Del frowns from the first chair, but doesn't call Cal out on the insolence. 

They all gasp when the Southerner's stars are placed on the table, and Callie understands now why they wanted them to be nothing more than pretty pawns on their chess table.

 **Christmas, 1896**  
**California**  
Callie hosts Christmas that year, when the snow drives her siblings from their own states. 

It's chaotic and insane and wonderful. 

And when she looks around at the older states, she realizes she's caught up with them in age.

 **1900**  
**Virginia**  
Lani is so small, and so scared, and she reminds Callie that she was once the same way. 

Austin smiles at her. "Got a new favorite sibling, I see."

 **April 18, 1906***  
**California**  
It hurts and it hurts and Alfred feels it because 3000 people are  _dead_.

The earthquake tears the skin on her back from her right shoulder to her left hip and branches out like a lightning strike. 

Alfred comes, and he gives her that sad smile and holds her when she cries.

 **Christmas, 1908**  
**California**  
Callie teaches the siblings that are curious how to surf that year. 

Alfred takes to it just like every other sport- perfectly. 

Surprisingly, Virginia had a natural talent for surfing. 

Alfred gives her a Brownie camera that year, and Callie takes over four dozen photos during the whole of Christmas break. 

 **1909**  
**California**  
Photography has rapidly become her  _thing_. 

She explores her own lands, memorializing them on photo paper. She frames them, tacks them to the walls in her bedroom, pastes them into albums until her home is full of photos.

 **1914**  
**Virginia**  
An assassination rapidly becomes a World War, and Cal goes with the other states when they jump the Canadian border and join the Canadian army. 

 **1937**  
**California**  
They recover from the depression, and Callie throws herself into Hollywood. 

She pulls strings, gets herself into the studios, and watches the directors and actors make magic. 

Nate gets it, maybe the only one in the West who does- Charlie says she's being too extravagant, Sol never cared for the glamour.

But Nate comes with her to the movie premieres, and no matter what anyone else says, Cal knows Nate's more than a junkie. 

 **September 9, 1943**  
**The Pacific**  
America is pressing a camera into her hands.

 _Don't let them forget_ , He tells her.

She carries it with her where she goes, cementing the horrors of this war in film.

 **1945**  
**Virginia**  
Alfred flips through her photographs as she sits across from him.

He looks up, blue eyes uncertain. "Would you mind if I used your photos at the trials?"

Cal shrugs. "Whatever." She fiddles with the straps on her camera. "I think I'm going to go on vacation for a while. Build a portfolio to get into a college."

Alfred grins. 

 **1971**  
**Virginia**  
"Guys, stay still." Cal calls, laughing. "Okay, once I press the button, it'll take the photo in five seconds. Ready?"

The States cram closer together, preparing for the camera to go off. 

Cal presses the button, running to her place beside Sol and smiling just in time for the picture to take. 

She gives it to Alfred for Christmas. 

 _A family doesn't have to share blood to be a family,_ Cal scrawls on the back of the picture.  _Thank you for creating this family_.

**Author's Note:**

> January 9, 1857*: 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake  
> April 18, 1906*: 1906 San Francisco earthquake


End file.
